After raising more than twice as much as expected in its March IPO, Kestra Medical Technologies Inc. appears poised to repeat its success with an upsized secondary offering as well. The Kirkland, Wash.-based company initially planned to offer 5.5 million shares in its second pass at the market but increased the number of shares to 6 million two days later when it set the price at $23 per share. The projected gross proceeds of $138 million provide a nice addition to the $232 million raised nine months ago.
Ireland’s life sciences and health tech companies raised a record-breaking €491.3 million ($572.9 million) in venture capital funding across 89 deals in 2024, according to a report from Enterprise Ireland. The investment underscores investor confidence in the country’s ecosystem, which looks set to continue despite global headwinds such as trade tariffs, economic uncertainty and rising operating costs.
Bao Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., a developer of subcutaneous biologic drugs, priced its IPO at HK$26.38 on Dec. 2, aiming to raise about HK$1 billion (US$128 million). Bao expects net proceeds of HK$921.5 million after expenses, which will fund its “two-anti” strategy – developing both antibody and antibiotic drugs worldwide, mainly in China, the U.S. and Europe.
Protego Biopharma Inc. closed an oversubscribed $130 million series B financing that will be used to advance PROT-001, the company’s treatment for amyloid light (AL) chain amyloidosis. a plasma cell disorder where the cells produce abnormal, misfolded immunoglobulin light chain proteins.
The European Investment Bank and Angelini Ventures have partnered to invest €150 million (US$174 million) in health care companies across Europe. The funding will target seven to 10 companies in biotech, med-tech and digital health in an effort to boost financing in the European health care ecosystem and support the development of innovative solutions across the continent.